northern

Kim Jong-un. The cabin height is ideal.

Towergate called me back after my referral. They came in at a very reasonable £850 🙂 I've gone with GJW. They've dropped to £370 now the excess is upped to £300. This covers me for a fixed value of £80k on the boat and not market rate should the worst happen. Plus £7,000 contents including a laptop as a named item.

Thanks.. Who's yours with?

You've done well! I'm a novice with a year's experience, or just under, but they bumped this up to a year when I spoke with them last to give me the equivalent of 1 year's NCB. The boat's 'worth' £80k in my case so I think this along with my inexperience doesn't help.

Thanks for the responses. Apologies for the delayed reply. After 18 months of dicking about I finally went ahead with buying a boat today following a decent survey result. I've tried to arrange the insurance and the results are: GJW - £475 including £7,500 contents and laptop as named item Towergate - I've been referred and won't quote til they've spoken to me Navigators and General / Zurich - I'll get a response within 3 days Craft Insure - £162 - cover for contents can't be modified and looks like it's £2,400. Policy summary is a bit woolly. No mention of liveaboard whereas other do Cover for alternative accommodation is limited with all of them to around £2,500 which won't go far.

Thanks. What made you choose them? I'm not looking for a policy based on cheapest price, more one which has the fewest exclusions / get-outs.

Hi, I'm looking for advice on taking out a liveaboard specific insurance policy. I appreciate insurers can mostly only be measured in terms of how good they are when it comes to pay outs and most won't experience this and presumably it's determined by the underwriter rather than whoever you buy the policy from. However I'm more looking also for guidance and recommendations in terms of inclusions and exclusions, or 'must-haves', which you might think relevant, or reasons to avoid a particular insurer for whatever reason too. Many thanks,

Have a look at the link.

One more than you think. It sold again last week at Aqueduct. But it's OK, they've now "made her perfect". https://www.aqueductmarina.co.uk/second-hand-boats/whitefield/

It's been hanging around for that price for ages now. Can't think why.

I wasn't aware he was a boat mover. I'm new to the forum. I was going to do a search to find somebody qualified/insured etc but will drop him a message. Thanks.

Thank you. With all the annual leave I've taken I've not enough time to do the journey as much as I'd like to. It's currently on the Ashby. I'm hoping to get it move to Great Haywood which'll take 3 days or so and take it from there - I'm hoping to find a mooring somewhere on the SU - I've got enough time to take it from GH onwards, just. I need to crack on soon because of winter closures.

Thank you. The boat's not 100% in terms of what I was looking for. I'd be looking forever to find something that was. There's no washing machine which is trivial, and no obvious place to put one, even if the lovely solid wood kitchen with inlayed detail got butchered, which isn't so trivial. And the water tank is very small even for a non-liveaboard (200 litres!). But to balance that, it's a 1 owner boat, immaculately kept and recently been repainted and has just about everything else I want (including portholes which seem a rarity now). I'm happy with the agreed price. I want to get 12 months' experience and all 4 seasons experienced as a liveaboard and see where I go from there.

Thank you. Appreciated. Though I've been on here only 5 minutes and can't say I've contributed much! Thanks for your offer. You might regret that. I know sod all in the grand scheme of things!

I can empathise to an extent and what I write isn't aimed at you personally, more anyone that's found themselves in the same situation. I'm pretty new to boating having only sold a small leisure boat last summer after a fairly short period of ownership. I ended up living aboard for a chunk of last year, mostly through the lockdowns, by choice and really enjoyed it. So much so, whilst I'm in my late 30s with no debts or family responsibilities or excuses, and young enough to make a potential mistake, that I finally found the courage and bollocks to press on with moving aboard full-time. Since the start of this year I've had the funds available but encountered similar upsets and issues: A few months ago I set off very early in the morning to view a boat at Rugby Boats in the knowledge that I'd be the second person to view, only to get a call when I was 5 minutes away to say it was sold to viewer number 1. That was a 200 mile round trip Same circumstances as above, except I did make it to the broker and managed to view the boat this time. The first people who viewed bought it and the broker promised me a call once he knew whether they were prepared to make an offer, and wouldn't accept mine until he'd had theirs. I never did get that call and only knew it'd gone because they did find the time to update their website a few hours later. That broker in question is a smug Cheshire-based marina I had to take to small claims court the seller the private seller of a boat post-survey result to get my deposit back after he reneged on the sale terms. I won and got it back but it was unwanted stress I've clocked up hundreds and hundreds of miles of driving to see boats, excited at the prospect, only to find it's no good for varying reasons and encountered the feeling of hopelessness I've also had the bare the expense of having boats surveyed only to find there's varying issues and the sale fall through. Note here I don't say the money was wasted; what I learned a lot more from the surveyor each time this happened, in terms of what to look for and what to do next time I find a boat even before I call him to arrange a survey has been invaluable. Knowing what I know now, I'd have never even gotten to the offer or survey stage with said boats. But the painful experience has been well worth it. With all this going on, I ended up sinking dead money into renting a house for most of this year, thinking that I'd have secured a boat well before now. And despite all this, with me coming close every now and again to giving up due to disillusionment, and coming to terms with it all being a misguided idea and flitting to wanting to pursue buying another house instead, I haven't given up. I think most in my shoes would have done so. It's very easy to focus on the negatives when it's not going your way. That's not intended criticism, more a reflection of how I've felt. But when looking at things with a clear head and objectively, I'd say that: If you really want it to happen, you'll go to the lengths necessary to make it so. I've booked 3 separate weeks of annual leave from work this year so I'm not constrained if something come to market, enabling to me to jump in the car immediately as well as the time to put the groundwork in with the brokers mentioned below. This really paid off - I got to see lots of boats, many unlisted - and not many would be willing to make this sacrifice with their holidays, I reckon You'll have to do the groundwork with the brokers. Most of the bigger ones won't be calling you when something's on its way which meets your needs. They've no need to do so in the current climate I've a list of maybe 20 brokers, from small to large, I've proactively called to ask whether they've got anything sat unlisted or on its way which meets your requirements. It's a fag packet estimate but I reckon maybe 25% of the brokers, including Rugby Boats, gave me the details of exactly just that and gave me the opportunity to view before they listed them Speaking to boatbuilders who only do a bit of brokerage on the side for boat they've usually previously built, threw up great results. One in particular, a very top end builder actually, not only spent a few hours with me in person after a viewing, chatting and giving advice but proactively got in touch several times since detailing boats they were about to broker to see if I'd be interested As above, with smaller marinas that do a bit of brokerage only for their own moorers You're dealing with people and not just companies. I've found with one broker who runs a whole load of marinas, the experience differed wildly from marina to marina. One marina couldn't be more helpful in terms of giving me details of an unlisted boat they were about to sell and invited me to view, whereas another took a smart-arsed response and generally treated me with contempt; "how do you know it's for sale then if it's not even listed!", rather than offering help Stating your position to brokers early on helps. I've seen countless sale fall through, only to speak to the broker and be told it was because the intended buyer's house sale fell through or the generally didn't have the cash, rather than it being the result of a duff survey. If you've got the cash ready, make it clear The terms of sale for buyers are so poor with some brokers you may wish to rule some brokers out altogether. It might be worth getting copies or an understanding of them, as I did, and make your mind up from there I don't hold any ill will towards those who've bought and sold boats without giving me a call. It's not their responsibility to call me. However, I will remember those who lied, acted smugly or treated me with contempt. When things inevitably go full circle in the future and it becomes a buyer's market, I'll not forget the good and the bad experiences and would be happy to share them with anyone who might ask Things are starting to change a little. Boats which would normally have gone quickly are now taking days, if not longer. Some of the prominent YouTubers have jacked it in, so perhaps it's falling out of favour slightly. We're coming into winter and the weather's turned - carrying out viewing in the lashing rain and cold won't be too appealing to many and will put off those who've have likely seen and bought had it been a lovely sunny day Maybe it was down to this approach or just pot luck but I managed to view and get an offer in on a boat last week before it made Apollo Duck, just through checking the marina's website. Subject to survey in 2 weeks, it's mine. Indeed things are so favourable with the marina that the contract doesn't even call for a deposit. Best wishes in finding a boat and to all those in the same situation. Fingers crossed I'll be living aboard very soon. Now I've got to find a mooring and a professional boat mover but you can't have it all 🙂

Seems to have increased £2,500 in the 24 hours since they listed it on their own website: https://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/jd-narrowboats-60-cruiser-stern-for-sale/678795 https://www.aqueductmarina.co.uk/second-hand-boats/boudica/ It only sold via the same broker around a year ago too. Now joined by the infamous Whitefield too. https://www.aqueductmarina.co.uk/second-hand-boats/whitefield/

Thanks, all. I think I'll use the SU. I can't see any stoppages on either route. Fingers crossed for the survey.

Thanks. Might give it a go. I really like the SU and how rural it is. I don't like the narrows though.

Subject to survey, I'm looking to move a boat from Stoke Golding, bridge 23 on the Ashby Canal, to Swanley Bridge, Llangollen. The journey is likely to start around Saturday 30th October. I'd like to go via the Staffs and Worcester and up the Shropshire Union rather than all the way up the Trent and Mersey. I know it's slightly longer but it's much more scenic, having done it before. Given the time of the year I'd be moving it, I've checked winter closures and can't see anything (planned) which would mean the trip's not possible. Just checking I've not missed anything obvious in terms of stoppages and for any other advice concerning the trip... Thanks,

Is the boat definitely on brokerage and not owned by Excretion Marina?

I suspect that's right. I got a deep sigh a few weeks ago down the phone when I dared to enquire if they've anything sat as yet unlisted, so can empathize.

I live in CW5 and there's lots around here. Would their name rhyme with Crap-re-duct?

Yesterday I managed to arrange a viewing of a boat within half an hour of it being advertised (not on Apollo Duck but on the marina's website I happened to view). It was reasonably priced in today's market. The boat's had the same owner since new and looked immaculately kept. I still managed to negotiate £5,000 off the list price. What I'm saying is, it all depends on the seller and their position. In my case they wanted the money to fund something else and were keen to strike a deal. You might find the same. Best of luck with it.